UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA        AGRICULTURAL    EXPERIMENT    STATION 
COLLEGE   OF  AGRICULTURE  BENJ-  IDE  WHEELER'  p««'°*nt 

THOMAS     FORSYTH     HUNT,     DEAN   AND    DIRECTOR 

BERKELEY  h.    e.   van    norman,   vice  -  director 

and  Dean   University  Farm  School 


CIRCULAR  No.  112 
(January,  1914) 

THE  COUNTY  FARM  ADVISER 


By  B.  H.  CEOCHERON 

State  Leader 


THE  FARM  ADVISER  MOVEMENT 

For  something  over  half  a  century  the  agricultural  colleges,  the 
experiment  stations,  and  the  national  department  of  agriculture  have 
been  investigating  questions  of  material  interest  to  the  farmers  of 
America  and  have  accumulated  a  vast  mass  of  information  which,  if 
it  could  be  engrafted  on  the  practice  of  the  open  country,  would 
undoubtedly  result  in  a  great  increase  of  our  material  prosperity  not 
only  through  a  larger  production  per  acre,  but  by  an  increased  net 
return  to  the  individual  farmer. 

Much  of  this  agricultural  information,  however,  has  been  in  such 
form  that  it  was  difficult  for  farmers  to  obtain  it,  or,  indeed,  to  know 
of  it  and  its  practical  application  to  their  individual  farms.  The 
material  was  embodied  in  agricultural  reports  and  bulletins  which 
treated  the  facts  in  a  broad  sense,  but  there  were  few  agencies  at  work 
and  few  men  available  to  make  the  specific  application  to  the  problem 
at  hand. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  agricultural  institutions  of  the  country 
are  like  a  great  manufactory  grinding  out  a  product  of  infinite  value 
which  has  been  stored  in  warehouses  far  from  the  consumer  that  the 
product  was  designed  to  reach.  Lacking  a  retail  force  of  agents,  this 
product  continued  to  accumulate  without  greatly  affecting  the  con- 
sumer and  his  wants.  Like  the  manufactory,  the  agricultural  insti- 
tution must  have  its  agents  close  to  the  point  of  consumption  so  that 
the  product  may  be  readily  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who  need  it. 
These  agricultural  agents  are  now  being  established  throughout  the 
nation  under  the  name  of  "County  Farm  Advisers."     They  act  as 


the  necessary  force  to  bring  the  information  of  the  agricultural  col- 
leges, experiment  stations,  and  the  national  department  of  agriculture 
to  the  specific  farmer  who  needs  it. 

Some  one  hundred  and  eighty  counties  in  the  United  States  now 
have  farm  advisers  at  work,  and  but  recently  the  first  one  of  these  in 
California  has  been  placed  in  Humboldt  County. 

A  FARM  ADVISER— WHAT  HE  IS 

A  farm  adviser  is  a  man  trained  in  agriculture,  usually  a  graduate 
of  an  agricultural  college,  who  has  had  some  practical  experience  in 
the  broad  phases  of  agriculture,  and  who  should,  if  possible,  be  con- 
versant with  the  particular  problems  that  concern  the  locality  in  which 
he  is  placed. 

Because  his  work  depends  so  much  for  its  results  on  the  enthusiasm 
that  he  can  infuse  into  others  he  must  be  a  man  of  tact,  of  energy,  and 
of  real  desire  to  achieve  results  in  his  chosen  field. 

The  farm  adviser  is  an  agent  both  of  the  College  of  Agriculture 
of  the  University  of  California  and  of  the  Office  of  Farm  Management, 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  He  is  placed  in  a  county 
where  his  services  are  desired.  His  entire  time  and  activity  are  spent 
there  within  the  boundaries  of  that  county.  There  he  is  the  field 
agent  of  the  agricultural  forces  of  the  nation. 

A  FARM  ADVISER— WHAT  HE  DOES 

The  problem  of  the  farm  adviser  is  to  reach  those  who  desire  his 
services.  He  gives  advice  on  soil  treatment,  fertilization,  crop  adapt- 
ation and  culture,  animal  husbandry  and  its  allied  phases.  In  general, 
he  studies  those  various  activities  of  the  farm  that  are  known  under 
the  head  of  farm  management  and  demonstrates  his  better  methods 
on  the  farms  of  those  interested  persons  who  desire  to  co-operate  with 
him.  As  he  is  occupied  in  the  increase  of  net  returns  to  the  farmer 
he  is  also  desirous  of  improving  those  civilizing  forces  of  the  open 
country  that  come  under  the  head  of  better  roads,  schools,  churches, 
farmers'  organizations,  and  marketing  facilities. 

The  farm  adviser  lias  an  office  or  headquarters  at  some  central  point 
in  the  county,  usually  at  the  county  seat.  He  may  also,  through  the 
organization  of  the  farm  bureau,  find  it  desirable  to  have  other  local 
or  district  headquarters  at  scattered  places  through  the  county. 

But  necessary  as  are  his  offices  and  headquarters,  little  of  his  time 
is  spent  there.  His  work  is  on  the  farms  and  among  the  people.  Day 
bv  dav  the  farm  adviser  noes   where  he  is  called,   advising  on  the 


various  questions  that  come  to  him.  When,  as  is  sometimes  the  case, 
he  meets  a  problem  that  to  him  is  impossible  of  solution  because  of 
the  technical  phases  involved  he  submits  it  for  consideration  to  the 
agricultural  college  or  to  the  federal  department  of  agriculture,  the 
forces  of  both  of  which  he  has  at  his  command. 

Specifically,  the  work  of  the  farm  adviser  may  be  divided  into  four 
general  branches,  as  follows : 

(1)  Investigation  or  research  into  the  larger  problems  of  farm 
management  as  applied  to  that  specific  community. 

(2)  Demonstration  or  application  of  these  principles  and  practices 
through  the  co-operation  of  interested  farmers. 

(3)  Advisory  work  with  inquirers,  that  is,  the  answering  of  ques- 
tions and  giving  of  advice  to  those  who  apply. 

(4)  Organization  work  of  the  civilizing  forces  of  the  community — 
assistance  to  boys'  agricultural  clubs,  farmers'  organizations,  schools, 
churches  and  marketing,  and  buying  organizations. 

The  work  of  the  farm  adviser  is  supervised  by  a  state  leader, 
appointed  jointly  by  the  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  to  whom  he  makes  weekly  reports. 

HOW  MUCH  A  FARM  ADVISER  COSTS 

The  farm  adviser's  salary  is  paid  by  the  College  of  Agriculture  of 
the  University  of  California.  His  expenses  are  paid  by  local  agencies 
within  the  county.  As  the  farm  adviser  is  constantly  traveling  from 
place  to  place  within  the  county  his  expenses  are  heavy,  comparatively 
speaking,  and  usually  amount  to  about  as  much  as  his  salary.  About 
two  thousand  dollars  a  year  is  estimated  to  be  necessary  in  most  cases 
for  the  expenses  of  the  farm  adviser.  These  mean  the  maintenance 
of  an  office  and  office  facilities,  the  use  of  a  small  automobile  for 
travel  within  the  county,  and  the  subsistence  of  the  farm  adviser  while 
away  from  home. 

As  the  value  of  a  farm  adviser  increases  greatly  as  he  becomes 
more  familiar  and  expert  on  the  problems  of  the  county,  it  is  highly 
desirable  that  the  work  be  made  permanent  and  that  no  county  should 
start  such  an  adviser  at  wcr\  without  funds  in  sight  for  his  expenses 
for  at  least  three  years  and  the  money  actually  in  hand  for  his  first 
year  of  work. 

Two  thousand  dollars,  then,  should  be  raised  by  the  county,  with 
pledges  for  four  thousand  dollars  to  follow  at  the  rate  of  two  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  if  the  work  is  to  be  a  success. 

Since  the  farm  adviser  represents  the  College  of  Agriculture  and 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  which  treat  only  with 


the  whole  people,  and  since  the  permanence  of  the  work  is  highly 
desirable  for  efficiency,  the  best  means  for  the  contribution  of  funds 
for  the  expenses  of  the  county  adviser  is  through  the  county  super- 
visors, because  public  taxation  is  more  permanent  than  any  other  fund 
and  represents  all  the  people.  While  this  means  of  contribution  may 
not  be  possible  at  the  inauguration  of  the  work,  it  is  desirable  in  all 
counties  that  a  sufficiently  large  number  of  persons  should  be  inter- 
ested by  direct  or  indirect  contribution  so  as  to  insure  a  backing  for 
the  farm  adviser  and  a  real  demand  for  his  work. 

HOW  TO  GET  A  FARM  ADVISER 

Because  the  funds  available  from  the  College  of  Agriculture  for 
farm  advisers  are  limited  at  present  by  the  heavy  demands  of  other 
work,  farm  advisers  will  be  placed  in  those  counties  that  first  qualify 
by  a  deposit  of  two  thousand  dollars  with  some  responsible  party 
within  the  county.  Application  for  farm  advisers  should  be  made  to 
the  State  Leader,  College  of  Agriculture,  Berkeley,  California. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  FARM  ADVISER'S  WORK— THE  FARM  BUREAU 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  work  of  the  farm  adviser  and  to  conserve 
his  time  as  much  as  possible,  it  is  desirable  that  some  permanent 
organization  be  in  advisement  with  him  regarding  problems  of  the 
county.  Such  an  organization  is  a  farm  bureau  as  organized  in  many 
parts  of  the  United  States,  and  in  California  in  Humboldt  County. 

The  farm  bureau  is  the  organization  of  farmers  around  certain 
local  district  headquarters  where  the  farm  adviser  is  due  at  definite 
intervals  and  times  for  consultation  with  the  members  of  the  bureau 
and  for  demonstration  on  their  farms  of  the  methods  under  discussion 
for  their  county.  Each  local  headquarters  of  the  bureau  has  a  director, 
elected  from  among  its  members,  to  serve  on  the  board  of  the  farm 
bureau.  It  is  often  advisable  to  have  this  farm  bureau  established 
before  the  farm  adviser  is  appointed  and  to  make  it  the  holding  party 
for  the  local  funds  raised  for  his  expenses.  As  seen  by  the  following 
constitution  and  by-laws  of  the  Humboldt  County  Farm  Bureau,  each 
member  pays  one  dollar  per  year  as  dues  for  membership  in  the 
bureau.  The  surplus  beyond  running  expenses  may  go  as  part  of  the 
expense  necessary  for  the  farm  adviser. 


Constitution  and  By-Laws  for  the  Humboldt  County  Farm 

Bureau 

PREAMBLE 

In  order  to  further  and  promote  the  agricultural  interests  of  this 
county  and  all  its  enterprises  dependent  upon  agriculture,  we,  the 
undersigned,  do  -hereby  form  a  permanent  organization  under  the 
following  constitution  and  by-laws. 

ARTICLE  I 
Name 
The  name  of  this  organization  shall  be  the  Humboldt  County  Farm 
Bureau. 

ARTICLE  II 
Object 
The  object  of  this  organization  shall  be  to  assist  the  farm  adviser 
in  his  work  in  the  county  and  to  aid  him  in  the  development  of 
agriculture  and  such  allied  industries  as  may  properly  come  within 
his  province,  including  the  betterment  of  social,  home,  school,  and 
church  conditions  in  the  county. 

ARTICLE  III 
Membership 
Any  person  a  resident  of  Humboldt  County  or  an  owner  of  farm 
land  in  the  county,  interested  and  willing  to  aid  in  the  development 
of  the  agriculture  of  the  county,  may  become  a  member  of  this  bureau 
by  agreeing  to  this  constitution  and  paying  an  annual  membership 
fee  of  one  dollar  and  such  other  dues  as  may  be  regularly  assessed. 

ARTICLE  IV 
Officers  and  Duties 
Section  1 — The  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  Humboldt 
County  Farm  Bureau  shall  be  vested  in  the  following  officers :  a 
president,  a  vice-president,  a  secretary-treasurer,  four  directors  at 
large,  and  one  director  to  be  elected  as  hereinafter  provided,  from 
each  township. 

Section  2 — The  directors  at  large  shall  be  elected  by  the  whole 
bureau,  not  more  than  one  coming  from  one  township,  the  township 


directors  b}7  the  members  of  the  bureau  living  in  the  township  con- 
cerned.   The  secretary-treasurer  shall  be  elected  by  the  officers. 

Section  3 — The  term  of  office  of  all  officers  shall  be  one  year. 

Section  4 — All  the  officers  excepting  the  secretary-treasurer  shall 
be  elected  at  the  regular  annual  meeting. 

Section  5 — At  all  elections  a  majority  of  votes  cast  shall  be  neces- 
sary to  elect.    Vote  shall  be  by  ballot. 

Section  6 — Each  officer  shall  be  entitled  to  one  vote. 

Section  7 — The  president  shall  preside  at  all  the  meetings  of  the 
officers  or  of  the  bureau,  appoint  all  standing  committees  and  perform 
all  other  duties  not  otherwise  provided  for. 

Section  8 — The  vice-president  shall  perform  the  duties  of  the 
president  in  his  absence. 

Section  9— The  secretary-treasurer  shall  keep  a  record  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  bureau,  receive  the  membership  fees  and  assessments, 
have  custody  of  all  funds  of  the  bureau,  and  shall  make  a  full  report 
at  each  annual  meeting,  or  at  such  time  as  the  bureau  may  direct. 
He  shall  pay  out  money  only  on  orders  signed  by  the  president  and 
countersigned  by  himself. 

ARTICLE  V 
Vacancies 
The  officers  shall  have  power  to  fill  all  vacancies. 

ARTICLE  VI 
Meetings 

Section  1 — The  bureau  shall  hold  a  regular  annual  meeting  during 
the  early  fall,  the  date  and  place  to  be  set  by  the  officers  and  announced 
at  least  two  weeks  prior  to  the  time  of  meeting. 

Section  2 — The  officers  shall  hold  a  regular  monthly  meeting  at 
the  office  of  the  farm  adviser;  or  (Section  2)  the  officers  shall  meet  on 
call  of  the  president. 

Section  3 — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  president  to  call  special 
meetings  of  the  bureau  at  the  request  of  a  majority  of  the  officers, 
and  notice  of  same  must  be  given  in  advance. 

ARTICLE  VII 
Committees 
The  committees  to  be  appointed  shall  be  made  up  of  persons  sug- 
gested by  the  farm  adviser  and  approved  by  the  officers.    The  number 
of  committees  and  number  of  persons  on  each  committee  to  be  regu- 


lated  by  the  nature  and  character  of  the  work  to  be  done.  Committee- 
men shall  serve  for  a  term  of  one  year,  or  for  the  length  of  time 
specified  at  the  time  of  their  appointment,  Their  duties  shall  be 
outlined  at  the  time  of  their  appointment. 

ARTICLE  VIII 
Order  of  Business 
The  following  shall  be  the  order  of  business  at  all  the  regular 
meetings  of  the  bureau  and  officers : 

1.  Call  to  order  by  the  president. 

2.  Reading  of  the  minutes  of  the  last  meeting. 

3.  Reports  of  committees. 

4.  Unfinished  business. 

5.  Communications  from  state  leader  or  farm  adviser. 

6.  Report  of  officers. 

7.  New  business. 

8.  Adjournment. 

ARTICLE  IX 
Amendment 
This  constitution  may  be  amended  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the 
members  present  at  any  regular  or  special  meeting.     Notice  of  such 
amendment  must  be  given  at  least  two  weeks  in  advance. 

ARTICLE  X 
Enacting  Clause 

Section  1 — This  constitution  shall  be  in  effect  on  and  after  its 
adoption. 

Section  2 — All  officers  elected  at  the  time  this  constitution  is 
adopted  shall  hold  office  only  until  next  annual  meeting. 

BY-LAWS 

No.  1 — A  member  shall  be  considered  to  have  been  properly  noti- 
fied of  any  proposed  action  of  the  bureau  by  its  officers  whenever 
such  notice  shall  have  been  mailed  to  each  member  or  published  in 
two  issues  of  such  county  papers  as  may  be  designated  by  the  officers. 

No.  2 — Whenever  a  township  shall  organize,  with  a  minimum  of 
ten  charter  members,  then  such  township  shall  be  entitled  to  a  town- 
ship director. 


8 

No.  3 — Whenever  any  township  shall  attain  a  membership  in  the 
bureau,  which  shall  entitle  it  to  a  director,  the  township  concerned 
may  immediately  elect  such  director,  who  shall  hold  office  until  the 
next  annual  meeting. 

No.  4 — An  organized  township  shall  be  entitled  to  a  township 
bureau  headquarters,  at  which,  if  requested,  the  farm  adviser  shall 
be  present  on  the  regular  schedule  at  least  once  each  month,  weather 
and  other  conditions  permitting.  At  such  time  it  will  be  the  object 
of  the  farm  adviser  to  meet  members  of  the  bureaus  and  others,  and 
to  furnish  such  aid  as  may  be  requested. 

,  No.  5 — The  director  for  each  organized  township  will  have  charge 
of  the  local  headquarters  of  the  bureau  and  will  make  such  arrange- 
ments for  the  farm  adviser  while  there  as  will  best  conserve  the  time 
of  the  adviser  and  serve  the  interests  of  the  county. 


WHAT  THE  FARM  ADVISER  MAY  DO  IN  A  DAY 

In  order  that  some  concrete  impression  may  be  gained  of  the  work 
of  the  farm  adviser,  the  following  account  by  J.  L.  Grayson,  editor 
Farm  Development  Page  of  the  Humboldt  County  Times  for  Sunday, 
October  19,  1913,  shows  a  typical  day  with  the  farm  adviser  of  Hum- 
boldt County  about  three  months  after  his  work  began.  It  is  stated 
that  no  special  preparations  were  made  for  this  day  in  which  Mr. 
Grayson  accompanied  Mr.  Christiansen  on  his  rounds  through  the 
county.  It  will  give  some  impression  of  what  a  farm  adviser  may  do 
in  the  course  of  his  daily  work. 


A  ROUND  WITH  THE  FARM  ADVISER 

"Practically  all  the  soils  of  Humboldt  County  need  lime,"  said  Farm 
Adviser  A.  H.  Christiansen.  This  he  has  determined  by  chemical  and  other 
tests  made  since  his  incumbency  of  his  job  of  telling  the  local  farmers  what 
not  to  do  and  how  to  do  it.  Of  course,  if  the  soil  needs  lime  the  only  way  it 
will  get  what  it  needs  will  mean  that  the  farmers  will  have  to  buy  lime  and  put 
it  on  the  soil.  And  therefrom  flows  a  nice  little  story  of  the  wisdom  of  a 
county  employing  a  farm  expert  and  incidentally  of  the  mental  processes  that 
make  the  wheels  go  round — no,  I  mean  agitate  the  cells  in  the  gray  matter  of 
a  farm  expert's  head. 

It  works  out  something  like  this:  If  the  soil  needs  lime  the  farmer  must 
buy  it.  Very  well,  lime  by  the  single  ton  lot  or  less  is  now  retailing  in  Hum- 
boldt County  at  about  $20  per  ton.  In  lots  of  two  tons  it  can  be  bought  for 
$16.  The  average  amount  of  lime  needed  per  acre  is  1500  pounds.  There  are 
1534  farmers  in  the  county.     According  to  the  census,  farm   holdings  average 


above  300  acres  per  farmer.  At  even  150  acres  each  that  would  mean  230,100 
acres.  At  1500  pounds  per  acre  you  have  345,150,000  pounds,  or  about  175,000 
tons.     At  $16  per  ton  it  would  mean  $2,800,000.     Just  for  one  application! 

Gee  whiz!  Where's  Mr.  Farmer  going  to  get  pretty  nearly  three  million 
dollars  for  lime?  Well,  of  course,  he  isn't.  It  would  scare  him  to  death.  And 
then  the  farm  expert  says  this  first  dose  of  1500  pounds  of  lime  per  acre  would 
only  last  about  three  years  and  the  land  would  need  it  again.  Of  course,  the 
expert  says  that  lime  would  mean  adding  from  a  third  to  a  half  in  productive 
capacity  to  the  soil  and  the  extra  production  would  pay  the  lime  bill  and  then 
leave  a  good  profit.    But  there's  more  of  the  story. 

The  farm  expert  suggested  to  the  secretary  of  one  of  the  farmers'  associ- 
ations that  if  the  members  would  bunch  their  orders  for  lime  the  dealers  might 
make  a  better  price.  The  result  was  remarkable.  The  dealer  came  down  in 
price  half.  But  even  at  $8  per  ton  it  meant  a  million  and  a  half  to  the  farmers 
of  the  county  to  put  one  application  of  lime  on  only  half  their  land.  The  farm 
expert  was  not  satisfied  yet.  Somebody  thought  there  was  plenty  of  lime  rock 
right  here  in  the  county.  He  began  an  investigation.  About  ten  miles  north 
of  Eureka  he  found  a  whole  mountain  of  lime,  and  heard  of  a  lot  of  other  places 
in  the  county  where  there  was  plenty.  Then  he  learned  that  it  costs  only 
about  $2  per  ton  to  burn  the  rock  in  a  kiln  and  make  lime  of  it. 

Well,  he  figures  that  if  it  costs  $2  per  ton  and  if  $2  more  were  added  for 
profit  and  handling  it  would  give  the  farmers  of  the  county — and  everybody 
else,  for  that  matter — all  the  lime  they  wanted  at  $4  per  ton.  Which  means  a 
saving  too  big  to  calculate,  but  one  which  will  pay 'a  farm  expert's  salary  for 
several  weeks  to  come.  And  now  an  expert  mineralogist  from  the  State  Uni- 
versity has  been  sent  for,  to  make  sure  the  qualit\  and  quantity  of  this  lime 
rock  are  both  all  right,  and  a  practical  lime  kiln  man  is  just  waiting  for  these 
details  to  begin  operations.    That's  one  day's  work  for  Humboldt's  farm  expert. 

Here  is  another  day  of  a  different  sort.  The  farm  expert  has  an  auto  now 
and  he  kindly  invited  the  Times  man  to  make  the  rounds  w.th  him.  Can't 
tell  the  whole  story  of  even  one  day  on  this  page,  but  a  few  sample  cases  of 
the  work  will  give  you  some  idea.  Early  in  the  morning  one  of  those  beautiful 
days  last  week — real  Humboldt  county  weather — we  rolled  out  on  the  road 
leading  to  the  valley.  As  we  passed  a  field  of  beets  and  carrots  we  inquired 
as  to  the  average  crop  per  acre  of  the  roots  so  generally  grown  by  the  dairy 
folks.  "They  get  about  12  tons  of  carrots  per  acre,  and  about  15  tons  of 
beets,"  said  Christiansen.  "They  should  get  24  to  30  tons  of  carrots  and 
30  to  40  tons  of  the  beets,"  he  added.  "Lime  in  the  soil  and  proper  cultiva- 
tion and  handling  would  easily  raise  the  yields  to  double. ' ' 

"During  the  past  month  a  number  of  dairymen  have  been  making  in- 
quiries as  to  what  would  increase  the  yield  and  a  number  of  them  have  agreed 
to  use  lime  on  the  soil  and  give  the  better  methods  a  try-out.  I  believe  we  shall 
see  a  considerable  change  for  the  better  in  this  direction  soon.  If  only  one 
man  in  a  neighborhood  will  do  things  right  the  rest  will  soon  follow  suite  and 
it  looks  very  hopeful.  Another  thing  where  they  can  greatly  increase'produc- 
tion  is  by  getting  rid  of  immense  waste  of  land  in  growing  weeds.  Every 
weed  grown  means  depletion  of  soil,  absorption  of  moisture  needed  by  good 
crops  and  it's  mighty  bad  farming." 


10 

And  I  suppose  at  a  low  estimate  there  are  6000  or  8000  acres,  maybe  twice 
that  of  root  crops  grown  for  dairy  feed.  If  the  work  of  the  farm  adviser 
means  an  increase  of  double  the  yield  that  would  mean  double  the  number 
of  dairy  cows  and  double  the  output  of  dairy  products  and —  Well,  it  does  look 
as  if  a  farm  expert  adviser  was  a  kind  of  handy  individual  to  have  in  the 
county  and  it  does  look  as  if  his  salary  was  a  pretty  good  sort  of  community 
investment.     Pretty  good  idea  to  keep  him  on  tap  all  the  while. 

Reaching  Fortuna  word  was  left  with  Farmer-Banker  Fred  Newell  that  the 
farm  adviser  would  be  at  the  service  of  as  many  farmers  as  cared  to  meet 
him  that  afternoon.  Then  we  drove  over  to  Alton  and  out  to  Louis  East 's 
good  place.  Mr.  East  had  made  inquiry  as  to  a  remedy  for  a  cow  that  was 
not  doing  well.  The  remedy  and  instructions  were  left  and  we  visited  the 
five  acres  of  horseradish  grown  on  the  East  farm  the  past  season  by  an  Oak- 
land concern,  samples  of  which  were  pronounced  by  them  as  the  best  horse- 
radish grown  in  the  state.  They  were  harvesting  the  crop  and  it  makes  a 
good  showing  as  one  of  the  future  money  crops  of  certain  sections  of  the 
county.     The  figures  on  this  crop  appear  elsewhere. 

Back  over  the  Hydesville  hill,  through  Eohnerville  and  a  brief  stop  at 
Robert  Seater's  orchard.  Mr.  Seater  wanted  to  know  about  spraying  and  soil 
trouble  and  these  were  talked  over  and  explained  and  then  on  to  Fortuna. 
Here  we  had  dinner  and  the  real  work  of  the  day  began.  About  a  dozen 
farmers  and  others  were  ready,  including  G.  H.  Conant,  Gratton  Little,  F.  H. 
Newell,  J.  Belloni,  Frank  Moreland,  W.  P.  Mclntyre  and  J.  H.  Gaarden. 

The  first  plaice  visited  was  Little  's  orchard.  Some  fine  apple  trees  looked  as 
if  they  were  having  a  hard  time  to  make  a  live  of  it.  Christiansen  looked 
at  the  sod-bound  earth,  hard  and  dry.  He  got  out  the  soil  augur  and  began 
boring.  Down  a  foot  or  more  and  pulled  up  the  augur.  Dry  as  dust.  Every- 
body took  a  hand  at  turning  that  augur  and  it  was  pulled  up  every  foot  or  so 
and  nothing  but  dry  earth  until  6%  feet  down,  we  found  the  moisture.  And 
this  in  the  richest  kind  of  alluvial  soil.  "There  is  what's  the  matter  with 
your  apple  trees — they  can't  grow  without  water  to  loosen  up  the  plant  food 
in   the   soil,"   said   Christiansen. 

Then  he  explained  the  need  of  cultivation  and  a  top  mulch  to  prevent  the 
water  in  the  soil  from  evaporating,  and  gave  a  demonstration  of  how  the  roots 
get  their  nourishment,  told  them  the  trees  were  planted  too  close  and  all  about 
the  chemical  and  mechanical  action  of  the  lime  on  the  minute  particles  of  the 
soil,  discussed  the  methods  of  spraying  and  the  care  of  trees  to  keep  them  free 
tii on   insect  and  fungus  pests  and  a  lot  of  other  things. 

Then  out  of  the  orchard  to  a  clover  field  where  the  best  methods  of  grow- 
ing clover  were  discussed,  how  to  disc  it  and  the  benefits  of  such  cultivation, 
and  on  to  a  patch  of  alfalfa.  Then  there  was  a  general  discussion  of  alfalfa, 
its  action  in  putting  nitrogen  in  the  soil  through  the  little  nodules  on  the 
roots,  and  directions  as  to  when  it  should  be  cut.  "Never  mind  the  blos- 
soms," said  he.  "Pull  up  a  stalk  or  two  here  and  there  in  the  field  and  if  the 
new  shoots  are  beginning  to  start  it  is  time  to  cut  alfalfa.  If  you  wait  until 
these  new  shoots  from  the  plant  head  get  two  or  three  inches  above  ground 
your  mower  cuis  them  off  and  you  are  cutting  not  only  the  crop  that  is  big 
enough  for  hay  but  the  next  crop  too." 


11 

Then  on  to  another  field,  a  part  of  which  has  been  put  in  various  crops 
in  the  past  three  or  four  years — none  of  which  would  grow  to  amount  to  any- 
thing. "Needs  lime  to  loosen  up  the  soil  and  make  the  plant  food  available," 
said  Christiansen.  Full  directions  as  to  applying  the  lime,  plowing,  cultivations, 
the  best  crops,  etc.,  were  detailed  and  illustrated  and  Newell  was  for  starting 
right  back  to  town  and  bringing  the  lime  out  then. 

"Better  wait  and  attend  the  meeting  November  1  at  the  court  house  in 
Eureka, ' '  suggested  the  expert.  * '  If  the  farmers  organize  and  combine  their 
orders  it  will  keep  more  dollars  in  their  pocketbooks  and  help  out  quicker  in 
the  way  of  bigger  and  better  production.  They'll  get  returns  that  way  sooner 
than  by  any  other. ' '  Then  he  told  them  all  about  the  prospects  for  getting 
cheap  lime  to  meet  their  needs  right  here  out  of  the  hills  in  old  Humboldt 
county.  And  I'm  sure  everyone  of  those  present  appreciated  what  the  farm 
adviser  means  to  the  county. 

On  a  little  further  we  came  to  a  splendid  field  of  kale.  It  was  an  average 
of  4  feet  high — on  the  same  kind  of  rich  alluvial  silt  soil  as  that  where  nothing 
would  grow.  Belloni  was  right  proud  of  it  and  said  it  was  the  very  best  dairy 
feed  he  could  grow.  And  then  Conant,  who  's  been  wised  up  on  kale,  showed 
'em  how  to  strip  the  big,  fat  leaves  off  the  stalk  and  leave  the  latter  stand  to 
grow  another  crop  and  so  double  the  yield,  and  Christiansen  explained  its  value 
as  a  milk  producing  feed  and  a  lot  of  other  things  about  it. 

The  next  move  was  out  into  the  hills  beyond  Rohnerville,  where  Messrs. 
Mclntyre  and  Gaarden  have  as  fine  a  tract  of  hill  farm  of  150  acres  as  I  have 
seen  in  the  county.  It  was  badly  farmed  for  many  years  and  got  the  reputation 
of  being  "run  out  soil."  "We  want  to  know  what  to  do  with  it,"  said  Mc- 
lntyre. Out  came  the  soil  augur  and  half  a  dozen  holes  were  bored  here  and 
there  in  different  fields.  The  rich  black  soil  looked  as  if  it  would  grow  gold 
dollars  to  me  and  I  wondered  what  the  expert  would  say. 

"How  much  fertilizer  must  we  put  on  here  to  get  anything  out  of  it?" 
asked  Gaarden.  "It  doesn't  need  fertilizer  yet.  It  is  fine  rich  soil  and  will 
grow  good  crops  for  500  years  without  fertilizer  if  it  is  handled  right, ' '  said 
Christiansen.  "It  would  make  a  very  fine  dairy  farm.  I  would  put  it  in 
alfalfa,  using  perhaps  a  first  crop  of  rye  and  vetches  mixed  to  loosen  it  up  a 
little  and  give  it  a  dressing  of  1200  to  1500  pounds  of  lime  per  acre."  And 
at  the  idea  of  growing  alfalfa  in  the  hills  both  Mclntyre  and  Gaarden  nearly 
fainted  and  fell  against  the  fence. 

And  then  came  detailed  instructions  for  plowing  and  drilling  in  the  lime 
and  the  proper  crop  rotation  and  the  alfalfa,  and  this  was  followed  with  direc- 
tiosn  for  cultivation  to  conserve  the  moisture  and  a  sort  of  lecture  on  caring 
for  the  farm  manure  pile.  "Handle  the  compost  pile  right  and  it  is  worth 
from  $50  to  $60  per  ton,"  said  the  expert.  "Handle  it  wrong  and  put  in  on 
the  soil  wrong  and  it  is  a  damage  rather  than  a  benefit. ' '  And  it  was  mighty 
interesting. 

And  there  was  lots  more  of  it.  I  wish  every  farmer  in  the  county  could 
have  heard  it  and  would  put  into  practice  these  things  the  college  experts  have 
been  finding  out  about  soil  and  crop  management.  Back  again  toward  Fortuna, 
stopping  at  the  good  dairy  farm  of  I.  T.  Smith.  Mr.  Smith  wanted  some  in- 
formation as  to  his  alfalfa.     This  was  given  in  detail  and  questions  answered 


12 

as  to  the  use  of  the  water  from  a  stream  that  flows  past  a  lot  of  redwoods  in 
the  hills,  about  whether  the  badly  discolored  water  would  do  for  irrigating. 

"The  root  discoloration  of  the  water  will  not  hurt  it  for  irrigating,"  Smith 
was  told,  but  to  be  sure  there  was  nothing  else  of  a  deleterious  character 
in  it,  a  sample  bottle  was  taken  for  analysis  in  the  laboratory.  Then  on  to 
Fortuna,  where  Gaarden  invited  us  to  have  dinner  at  the  celebrated  "Bachelors' 
Club"  of  that  place — and  a  jolly  good  dinner  with  a  jolly  good  bunch.  They 
tell  me  after  the  men  bachelors  organized  their  club  the  young  ladies  of  For- 
tuna followed  suite,  which  raises  an  interesting  question  as  to  whose  fault  it 
is.     But  that's  another  story. 

Then  to  the  auto  and  home.  And  if  any  of  you  know  of  anything  finer 
than  a  moonlight  drive  from  Fortuna  to  Eureka  in  a  balmy  October  evening 
in  the  best  county  with  the  best  climate  in  California — past  the  pleasant  farm 
homes  and  the  little  villages  picked  out  here  and  there  by  electric  lights,  and 
the  vague  outlines  of  the  hills  and  off  to  the  west  the  gentle  murmur  of  the 
old  Pacific  as  the  surf  rolls  in — why,  tell  me  of  it  and  I'll  hunt  it  up  and  try  it. 


